LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Keenan Allen had been feeling discomfort in his heel for some time before he pulled up lame while trying to track a deep pass from quarterback Caleb Williams in the Bears' Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans.
The 32-year-old veteran receiver missed the Bears' next two games as he and the training staff decided to rest the injury instead of trying to push through it early in the season.
Allen, who returned to practice this week and was a full participant on Friday, hopes that his course of action will pay off and that he won't have to deal with the issue all season.
"Nah," Allen said Friday at Halas Hall when asked if it will need to be managed all year. "That's why we been playing it safe. Just going day-by-day with it, week-by-week, seeing how it feels. Last week, we decided to sit it out and we're still playing it day-by-day."
CHICAGO BEARS
Allen said he initially aggravated the injury before the joint practices against the Cincinnati Bengals in mid-August. At that time, he said it was a "spur" on his heel, and he was able to run through it. However, the pain got worse throughout the Week 1 game against the Titans, and Allen said the bone spur on his heel "stretched" into the plantar fasciitis when he tried to stop in the end zone on the deep ball from Williams.
Allen described the initial injury as the product of "wear and tear," and it just progressively got worse as he tried to push through it in Week 1.
The 12-year veteran said he feels much better than before Week 1.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus anticipates that Allen will return and play Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field. Allen said he felt good Friday and "will see" if that holds up and he can go Sunday.
The Bears' offense has struggled to open the season. They rank either last or close to last in most major offensive categories, including points, yards, yards per play, DVOA, and EPA per play.
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Chicago's leadership council met with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron this week to discuss their issues and try to get things on track.
Watching from the sideline, Allen thinks the issues are solvable.
“Just all guys, everybody, we’ve just got to find a way to execute better, execute the plays that are being called, and just accept the challenge of making everything right on the offense and just put it on our shoulders," Allen said.
